BioWare founders Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk announce retirement

After 17 years, "the doctors" are leaving the video game industry behind.

For the last 17 years, BioWare has operated under the guidance of founders Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk, two medical doctors who quit their practice to make the kind of epic, choice-driven RPGs they wanted to play. That era is coming to an end, as the pair today announced their retirement from BioWare and from the video game industry.

"After nearly two decades in videogames, I’ve decided to move on to pursue an entirely different set of challenges," Muzyka writes in a post explaining the decision. Zeschuk echoed similar sentiments in his own farewell post: "This decision isn’t without significant pain and regret, but it’s also something I know I need to do, for myself and my family. I’ve reached an unexpected point in my life where I no longer have the passion that I once did for the company, for the games, and for the challenge of creation."

After having "largely personally achieved what I wanted in videogames," Muzyka writes that he will be moving into the field of entrepreneurship; focusing on investments with strong social impact in areas such as education, health care, and animal rights. Zeschuk, meanwhile, writes that his post-BioWare life will involve more time with friends and family, as well as work on "some personal passion-driven projects related to craft beer" (that includes a Web-based interview show called The Beer Diaries). "I'm not going to be working in games for a while, and there’s a strong possibility that I won’t be back," he writes.

Both founders gave immense thanks to the teams of developers and publishers they've worked with over the years, the fans that have supported them, and to Electronics Arts. The company retained the pair as upper management after purchasing BioWare in 2007.

"I know this might be concerning for some of you but the leaders at BioWare have had some time to think about it—to think about how the games, the fans, and the creative teams would move on without the two guys who started this organization back in 1995," BioWare Edomonton and Montreal General Manager Aaryn Flynn writes in a reaction to the announcement. "We—including Ray and Greg—think the studio is solid and the team here is ready to embark on a whole new era of games."

The loss of the two founders will not delay the development of any of BioWare's current projects, Flynn writes, including the recently announcedDragon Age 3: Inquisition and new multiplayer content and standalone releases in the Mass Effect series (which will continue under the guidance of Executive Producer Casey Hudson). Flynn also teased "an all new game set in a fictional universe, built from the bottom-up with all new gaming technology" from the studio.

Muzyka and Zeschuk have overseen the development of all of BioWare's biggest RPG franchises, including Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Dragon Age, and Mass Effect. The pair was honored into the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences Hall of Fame in 2011.

Unfortunately, this isn't that surprising. EA ruins companies and drives away talent. Look what has happened to BioWare since EA stepped in -- compare Dragon Age: Origins to Dragon Age 2, or compare Star Wars: The Old Republic to the quality of any of the older BioWare games. It's a disgrace.

I hope that finally EA can learn their lesson and take more of a hands off approach with developers they buy out, but sadly, I doubt that will happen.

Death of BioWare at the hands of EA. Blah, blah, blah... don't want to hear that BioWare is still here. EA has killed and drove off so many owners of the great companies. I have seen EA kill so many companies now... Origin, Looking Glass, Bullfrog, etc. Saves me some money as Dragon Age 3 definitely has NO interest in now.

Duh, duh, duh, another two bites the dust. Now EA can take whatever valuable IP BioWare has left and run it into the ground without pesky things like the co-founders getting in the way. I think I might play some Baldurs Gate in their honor.

They deserve congrats and thanks for everything they've brought to gaming over their careers. Some of my favorite experiences in gaming have come from them.

But I can't help being disappointed that Casey "RGB" Hudson is left as the sole helmsman of the Mass Effect 3 boat. He's the author of the single biggest letdown in my personal gaming career (note this is not the same as "worst ending" or "worst game," neither of which would be true).

Ya'll are upset that Bioware got bought 5 years ago - get over it - you should have cried about it back then.

The founders don't care about your crying - they made money in the medical field then in the gaming industry and extra cash for being bought out and they probably have some nice stock options they are still riding on. They "sold out" - that is not EAs fault - that is Bioware's.

So what if they feel like not coming into work any more and wanting to go ride jet skis at 11a. People get burnt out on professions all the time. It happens. they have enough money to kick back and do what ever the frak they want to - sucks to be them.

Translation: EA has ruined everything we've built so we're leaving. Or at least that's my guess. Too bad, I really loved their games.

Pretty much. Mass Effect 3 was an epic pile of suck and fail.

That's overstating it, I think. The majority of the game was really quite good, and a satisfying culmination of what had gone before. I was more emotionally involved in those characters at that point than any others in gaming I can recall. I actually got sort of uncomfortable and nervous when I had to go to the Citadel and tell Miranda I was moving on. I got choked up as I talked to Thane Krios for the last time. I was touched by Liara's gift. And the image of Garrus and I, old soldiers, fast friends, making our peace with the upcoming end through the scope of a sniper rifle will probably stick with me a long time.

It was just the conclusion of the game that left such a bitter taste in the mouth, made all the worse by what a stark contrast it was to the brilliance of so much other content in the game. It's a good thing that it had so far to fall; it's just unfortunate that it chose to fall most of the way.

Translation: EA has ruined everything we've built so we're leaving. Or at least that's my guess. Too bad, I really loved their games.

Pretty much. Mass Effect 3 was an epic pile of suck and fail.

That's overstating it, I think. The majority of the game was really quite good, and a satisfying culmination of what had gone before. I was more emotionally involved in those characters at that point than any others in gaming I can recall. I actually got sort of uncomfortable and nervous when I had to go to the Citadel and tell Miranda I was moving on. I got choked up as I talked to Thane Krios for the last time. I was touched by Liara's gift. And the image of Garrus and I, old soldiers, fast friends, making our peace with the upcoming end through the scope of a sniper rifle will probably stick with me a long time.

It was just the conclusion of the game that left such a bitter taste in the mouth, made all the worse by what a stark contrast it was to the brilliance of so much other content in the game. It's a good thing that it had so far to fall; it's just unfortunate that it chose to fall most of the way.

That's far too level-headed a response for a forum games discussion. Without ridiculous amounts of hyperbole, how would we complain?

Translation: EA has ruined everything we've built so we're leaving. Or at least that's my guess. Too bad, I really loved their games.

Judging from the dates (2007 -> 2012), I'd expect that they were contracted to remain at BioWare for 5 years after the EA purchase (with some kind of financial incentive to remain). I think it's quite common for EA to make offers like that to founders, as similar events have occurred at other studios bought by EA.

(Disclaimer: just my opinion. I have worked for EA, don't work there now...)

Ya'll are upset that Bioware got bought 5 years ago - get over it - you should have cried about it back then.

The founders don't care about your crying - they made money in the medical field then in the gaming industry and extra cash for being bought out and they probably have some nice stock options they are still riding on. They "sold out" - that is not EAs fault - that is Bioware's.

So what if they feel like not coming into work any more and wanting to go ride jet skis at 11a. People get burnt out on professions all the time. It happens. they have enough money to kick back and do what ever the frak they want to - sucks to be them.

So what you're saying is that as long as Greg and Ray are OK with EA taking a dump all over some of my favorite games of the past 15 years I should be to. Got it.

Meh, I saw this coming when they sold to EA. When you own a company with a solid string of hits you don't sell it unless you're looking to exit the arena. I am sure the only reason they hung around was to make sure the transition completed smoothly and that things could run without them. But outside of DA: Origins I think most of what Bioware has done since EA bought them has been pretty uninspired. So it would seem they have been there in name only for quite awhile now.

Not to defend EA, but as another comment pointed out already, people get burned out sometimes even when they're doing something they love. I'm not asserting this is the case - just that there might not be some scandalous behind-the-scenes drama between EA and these two guys.

Absolutely. These guys deserve to enjoy their retirement. EA has decided to leave behind single player games and is pushing an odd freemium Ultima title under the Bioware name that Mythic developed. I don't blame them for leaving rather than associate their name with projects they likely don't fully endorse.

Translation: EA has ruined everything we've built so we're leaving. Or at least that's my guess. Too bad, I really loved their games.

Judging from the dates (2007 -> 2012), I'd expect that they were contracted to remain at BioWare for 5 years after the EA purchase (with some kind of financial incentive to remain). I think it's quite common for EA to make offers like that to founders, as similar events have occurred at other studios bought by EA.

(Disclaimer: just my opinion. I have worked for EA, don't work there now...)

I would guess 3, and they had some kind of incentive to stay to five. Good for them though, they got to do what they wanted, make alot of money, and now get to play around with pet projects.

If they don't have the drive to make games I wouldn't want them to keep going anyways. If they don't have the drive, then the harsh industry is likely going to have them unhappy or uncaring, and do you think they'll produce great games that way?

Not to defend EA, but as another comment pointed out already, people get burned out sometimes even when they're doing something they love. I'm not asserting this is the case - just that there might not be some scandalous behind-the-scenes drama between EA and these two guys.

Yes, but while past performance is no guarantee of future results, it is most certainly an indicator. And EA is not known for their kindness to devs they buy out.

Judging from the dates (2007 -> 2012), I'd expect that they were contracted to remain at BioWare for 5 years after the EA purchase (with some kind of financial incentive to remain). I think it's quite common for EA to make offers like that to founders, as similar events have occurred at other studios bought by EA.

(Disclaimer: just my opinion. I have worked for EA, don't work there now...)

I assume exactly the same thing, especially given the joint demissions. If they still had operational responsibilities five years after the acquisition, it would have been harder to retire exactly at the same time. And, even with the kind words about EA, it's hard not to see in the announcement some kind of criticism leveled at their owners.

Sad to see them go, but I'm not super surprised at this point. There was a shift after they finished their last 2 pre-EA games, ME1 and DA:O, to a more action oriented angle. ME2 is still a very good game, but it was less about exploring and discovering a universe (with all the faults and samey planets that entailed in ME1) and more about straight-forward action set-pieces, and it just kind of lost something for me in that process.

Not to defend EA, but as another comment pointed out already, people get burned out sometimes even when they're doing something they love. I'm not asserting this is the case - just that there might not be some scandalous behind-the-scenes drama between EA and these two guys.

Yes, but while past performance is no guarantee of future results, it is most certainly an indicator. And EA is not known for their kindness to devs they buy out.

their departure was on paper the moment they signed up with EA. its always the plan with buyouts. you don't start a company yourself with the intention of some day being an employee.

Ya'll are upset that Bioware got bought 5 years ago - get over it - you should have cried about it back then.

What's to say we didn't? I predicted that they would fall into the standard EA-induced death spiral as soon as the EA purchase was announced. And I was right! Not that it takes much prescience to figure that out.

Anyway, good luck and godspeed to them; I'd probably do the same if I were them. Doesn't stop it from sucking or reinforcing the notion that Bioware is dead, though.

Translation: EA has ruined everything we've built so we're leaving. Or at least that's my guess. Too bad, I really loved their games.

Pretty much. Mass Effect 3 was an epic pile of suck and fail.

Mass Effect 3 was easily the best game in the franchise. The fact that you didn't like the ending doesn't change the fact that the rest of it was fantastic. (And personally, I didn't mind the ending.) This "zomg mass effect sucks you guys" hyperbole is tiresome. Especially (not saying this is true of you) when it comes from people who haven't played the entire series--or, more often, who lie about having played the entire series.

Translation: EA has ruined everything we've built so we're leaving. Or at least that's my guess. Too bad, I really loved their games.

Pretty much. Mass Effect 3 was an epic pile of suck and fail.

That's overstating it, I think. The majority of the game was really quite good, and a satisfying culmination of what had gone before. I was more emotionally involved in those characters at that point than any others in gaming I can recall. I actually got sort of uncomfortable and nervous when I had to go to the Citadel and tell Miranda I was moving on. I got choked up as I talked to Thane Krios for the last time. I was touched by Liara's gift. And the image of Garrus and I, old soldiers, fast friends, making our peace with the upcoming end through the scope of a sniper rifle will probably stick with me a long time.

It was just the conclusion of the game that left such a bitter taste in the mouth, made all the worse by what a stark contrast it was to the brilliance of so much other content in the game. It's a good thing that it had so far to fall; it's just unfortunate that it chose to fall most of the way.

Now there are two roads less traveled. With Hudson still in charge of the ME 3 franchise, I don't see much point of going any further down that road. DA 2 killed the other road for me. But there's still hope.

Given the return of Baldur's Gate Enhanced Edition, Obsidian's Project Eternity (and others) it may not be that long before we'll see another Dragon Age or SciFi adventure and all without EA's Origin curse attached.

Kyle Orland / Kyle is the Senior Gaming Editor at Ars Technica, specializing in video game hardware and software. He has journalism and computer science degrees from University of Maryland. He is based in Pittsburgh, PA.